Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Petroleum Institute News

13 Feb 2024

Oil Industry, Green Groups Challenge Biden Offshore Drilling Plan

© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

Oil and gas companies and environmental groups on Monday filed dueling legal challenges to the Biden administration's five-year plan to offer drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.The petitions to a U.S. appeals court come four months after the Interior Department unveiled a congressionally-mandated plan for offshore leasing that included just three sales, the lowest since the government began publishing the schedules in 1980.The American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas trade group…

03 Dec 2023

COP28: US Cracking Down on Methane from Oil and Gas

Credit: COP28 / Anthony Fleyhan

The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled final rules aimed at cracking down on US oil and gas industry releases of methane, part of a global plan to rein in emissions that contribute to climate change.The rules, two years in the making, were announced by US officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The US and other nations attending the summit are expected to detail how they will achieve a 150-country pledge made two years ago to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.Methane tends to leak into the atmosphere undetected from drill sites…

15 Nov 2023

US Appeals Court Orders Gulf Lease Auction Within 37 Days

Source: Earthjustice, Credit: NOAA

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.

02 Nov 2023

US Postpones Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Auction Due to Litigation

Credit: james_pintar/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Thursday postponed a Nov. 8 sale of offshore drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico pending the outcome of a lawsuit over oil and gas development and federal protection of an endangered species of whale.The move comes after a U.S. appeals court on Oct. 26 temporarily paused a lower court order requiring the Interior Department's U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to expand the auction, which was originally scheduled to be held in September.Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov.

27 Oct 2023

U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Sale Expansion, Pending Appeal

Credit: donvictori0/AdobeStock

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday temporarily paused a federal judge's order last month that had required the Biden administration to expand a planned offshore oil and gas auction in the Gulf of Mexico by 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares).The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed the September decision pending an appeal, according to a court document. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 13 in New Orleans.The order was the latest in a legal fight over offshore drilling and federal protection of an endangered species of whale.

02 Oct 2023

Biden Angers All Sides with Scaled Back Offshore Oil Drilling Plan

Credit: Lukasz Z/AdobeStock

The Biden administration's plan to slash offshore oil and gas leasing drew fire from both the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists on Friday, with energy companies saying it will raise fuel prices and greens saying it undermines efforts to stop global warming. The criticism from both sides reflects the difficulty Biden's White House has had in dealing with U.S. oil extraction policies, as it seeks to balance national energy security with the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

29 Sep 2023

US Plans Sharp Reduction in Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales

Credit: scandamerican/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Friday unveiled a plan to phase down oil and gas auctions in federal waters with the release of a long-awaited leasing schedule that includes a maximum of three sales in the Gulf of Mexico through 2029.The Interior Department's plan includes by far the lowest number of sales since the agency began producing Congressionally-mandated five-year oil and gas leasing schedules in 1980. Previous programs have ranged between 11 and 41 sales, according to Interior's U.S.

22 Sep 2023

U.S. Judge Orders Expansion of Gulf of Mexico Oil Lease Auction

Credit: Mike Mareen/AdobeStock

A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered an expansion of next week's sale of oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the Biden administration must include additional acreage, according to a court ruling issued late on Thursday.The oil and gas industry, which had sued the administration,  welcomed the decision to restore 6 million acres to the auction after the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management earlier reduced the area available for lease in an effort to protect an endangered whale.U.S.

18 Sep 2023

California Sues Oil Giants

Source: California Office of Governor

The state of California has sued major oil companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell PLC, and Chevron, accusing them of playing down the risks posed by fossil fuels, according to a court filing on Friday.The lawsuit, which also targets BP and ConocoPhillips, alleges the energy giants' actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and accuses them of deceiving the public, the filing in a superior court in San Francisco showed.The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group…

25 Aug 2023

Oil Companies Sue Over Lease Changes Made to Protect Whales

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

An oil and gas industry trade group, the state of Louisiana and Chevron on Thursday sued the Biden administration over its decision to withdraw acreage from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to protect an endangered whale.The suit is the latest dispute between the oil and gas industry and the administration of President Joe Biden over leasing federal lands and waters for energy development.Biden paused federal drilling auctions shortly after taking office in 2021 as part of his climate change agenda…

09 Mar 2023

US Needs Until Year-end to Complete Offshore Drilling Plan

© alexpolo / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration needs until the end of this year to finalize a long-awaited five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development in federal waters, according to court documents filed this week.The U.S. has been without a congressionally-mandated five year schedule of offshore oil and gas auctions since the previous one expired in June 2022. The process is being closely watched by the oil and gas industry, which has pressed for more leasing to boost domestic fuel supplies, and by environmentalists, who say drilling conflicts with President Joe Biden's promise to fight climate change.

23 Feb 2023

Supreme Court Sides With Offshore Worker in Overtime Case

© W.Scott McGill / Adobe Stock

An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc is entitled to overtime pay, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S.

14 Sep 2022

Biden Administration Reinstates Bids From 2021 Gulf of Mexico Oil Auction

© Troy V Smith / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it had reinstated bids from a November 2021 Gulf of Mexico sale of offshore oil and gas drilling rights, a requirement buried in U.S. President Joe Biden’s new climate change and drug pricing law.The move comes after a federal judge in January vacated the sale’s results, saying the administration had failed to properly account for the auction’s impact on global warming.The Inflation Reduction act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last month…

28 Jan 2022

U.S. Judge Annuls Gulf of Mexico Oil Auction Over Climate Impact

A drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit:flyingrussian/AdobeStock

A federal judge invalidated the results of an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday saying the Biden administration failed to properly account for the auction's climate change impact.The decision has cast uncertainty over the future of the U.S. federal offshore drilling program, which has been a big source of public revenue for decades but also drawn the ire of activists concerned about its impact on the environment and contribution to global warming.The Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15% of existing U.S.

29 Dec 2021

Oil Prices Hold Near $80 on Tight Supply and Stocks Drop

© Mosto / Adobe Stock

Oil prices held close to $80 a barrel on Wednesday as global supply outages and declining U.S. inventories offset worries that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand.Brent crude rose to as much as $79.20 a barrel before retreating to trade 24 cents down on the day at $78.70 by 1427 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged 32 cents lower to $75.65 after touching $76.17.Both contracts are trading near their highest in a month, aided by strength in global equities."Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in the latest coronavirus variant as a milder incarnation…

29 Nov 2021

U.S. Oil Drilling Review Proposes Higher Fees, Development Curbs

Credit: otmman/AdobeStock

The Biden administration proposed a slew of changes on Friday to the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program, including hiking fees on drilling companies and limiting their access to sensitive wildlife and cultural zones.The recommendations followed a months-long review aimed at ensuring drilling on federal lands and waters benefits the public. But in a sign of the extreme controversy surrounding the issue, environmental groups slammed the proposals as too weak and the industry…

06 Oct 2021

California Lawmakers Look to Ban Offshore Drilling after Spill

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021. / Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. The spill follows dozens of incidents in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, which slammed into the U.S.

16 Jun 2021

U.S. Judge Orders Resumption in Federal Drilling Auctions

Credit: A drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit:flyingrussian/AdobeStock

A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday blocked the Biden administration's pause on oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters, dealing a setback to a key White House effort to address climate change.The order granted a preliminary injunction to Louisiana and 12 other states that sued Democratic President Joe Biden and the Interior Department over the freeze on new drilling auctions. Louisiana is a major hub for offshore oil and gas production.Biden paused the government's leasing auctions in January pending a review that is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

19 Nov 2020

US Moves to Loosen Safety Rules for Arctic Offshore Drilling

(File photo: U.S. Coast Guard courtesy of Air Station Port Angeles)

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office.The proposal would revise a suite of Obama-era rules crafted to improve safety in the extreme conditions of the Arctic after a Shell drilling rig ran aground there in 2012. The company later abandoned oil exploration in the region and there are no active drilling operations there.Now, much of the U.S.

12 Jan 2021

Oil Rises to 11-month High

© viking75 / Adobe Stock

Oil hit an 11-month high just below $57 a barrel on Tuesday, bolstered by Saudi Arabia's plans to limit supply, offsetting worries that rising coronavirus cases globally would curtail fuel demand.Brent crude settled up 92 cents, or 1.7%, at $56.58 a barrel by after touching its highest level since last February at $56.75. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 96 cents, or 1.8%, to $53.28.Saudi Arabia plans to cut output by an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in February…

20 Jan 2021

Biden Announces Return to Global Climate Accord, New Curbs on US Oil Industry

Joe Biden - Image by Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced America's return to the international Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the centerpiece of a raft of day-one executive orders aimed at restoring U.S. leadership in combating global warming.The announcements also included a sweeping order to review all of former President Donald Trump's actions weakening climate change protections, the revocation of a vital permit for TC Energy's Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada…

21 Jan 2021

Biden Administration Suspends Federal Oil and Gas Permitting

© sic2005 / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration has temporarily suspended oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters while it evaluates the legal and policy implications of the program, according to a Department of Interior memo.The move appears to be a first step in delivering on newly sworn-in President Joe Biden's campaign promise to ban all new federal drilling permits, part of his wider agenda to combat global climate change.The order was welcomed by environmentalists and derided by the oil and gas industry…

28 Jan 2021

Biden Pauses Federal Oil & Gas Leasing, Eyes Offshore Wind Growth

Joe Biden - Credit: The White House

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a new raft of executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies, as he pursues green policies he billed as a boon for job creation.The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president's climate change and environmental agenda and reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas, and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews."In my view…